YOUNGSTERS from Cornton Primary School have been on the trail of Stirling’s herd of reindeer this festive season. 

All eight of the school’s classes walked into Stirling during the run-up to Christmas to take part in the city’s Reindeer Trail organised by Go Forth Stirling who run the Business Improvement District (BID). 

The pupils were especially excited to see the colourful reindeer created by youngsters from their own P6 class which has pride of place at Darnley Coffee House. 

The reindeer, which features a nativity scene, was designed by 10-year-old Amber Innes. 

Her classmates Patrija Kadere and Angelina Kelly helped her paint it while Ross Maclean came up with its name – Thistletoe. 

Amber and the rest of the P6 class, which is jointly taught by Nicola Watt and Kirsty Sage, were delighted to visit Thistletoe at the Bow Street café run by Niall Pleace. 

Amber said: “It took me a long time to decide on my design but in the end, I decided to go for a design with a nativity scene on it. 

“I was so pleased when I heard my reindeer had been chosen for the Trail and I think Thistletoe looks great.” 

Mrs Watt said: “My class was delighted to come up with one of the winning reindeer designs and our Headteacher, Louise Samphier, thought it would be fun to take our classes individually into Stirling to enjoy the Trail. 

“The children were really motivated to take part in the design competition especially after getting involved last year and made the most of the opportunity. 

“The Reindeer Trail is a great idea - both for the design aspect and for encouraging families to come into the town centre and see what’s happening in Stirling. 

“We had a fun and busy day out spotting the reindeer and it was a good opportunity to promote health and wellbeing. 

“We managed to track down quite a few of the reindeer and hope the children will complete the Trail with their families during the holidays.” 

The collection of 20 life-size reindeer feature in the windows of a range of Stirling shops, cafes and attractions creating some festive fun for families. 

The move follows the success of last year’s inaugural Reindeer Trail and sees a range of traders from across Stirling’s BID area taking part. 

Go Forth Stirling Project Manager Mags Fenner is delighted with the response to the Reindeer Trail so far.

She said: “It’s great to see so many children and families coming into Stirling to search for our reindeer in the run-up to Christmas. We’ve had great feedback about the extra dimension they add to the city centre.

“The children have done a fantastic job in decorating the reindeer – all 20 are beautiful and they each have their own character. I am excited to see which is going to be crowned ‘champion reindeer’ when we count up all the votes.

“There’s still plenty time to enter the competition and we’re looking forward to seeing lots of entries come in during the festive season.”

The Reindeer Trail runs until Friday January 3, 2020 with an iPad on offer for the winning entry. 

Families are invited to pick up a map – complete with clues – and find all 20 reindeer hosted in businesses around Stirling. 

And they can take advantage of the Go Forth Stirling Landtrain to visit the various retailers with a reduced hop on/hop off daily price of just £2 during the festive season. 

Entrants are also asked to vote for the Best Reindeer Design and the winning school will receive £250 worth of art supplies. 

The Go Forth reindeer were designed by schools from across Stirling who were invited to submit individual or group designs. 

A total of 20 winners, including entries from Riverside Primary, Bridge of Allan Primary and Stirling High, were chosen by a judging panel and provided with paints and a 1.7m high 3D reindeer to decorate. 

The completed reindeer were then located to shops around the city from the Burghmuir Retail Park and Forthside to the Thistles and Stirling’s historic Old Town.

As well as tracking down all 20 reindeer, shoppers are encouraged to take selfies with them and post the photos on social media using the hashtag #StirlingReindeerSelfie.

Reindeer Trail Leaflets featuring a map and entry form can be picked up from various locations around the city and entries should be returned by post or via special Santa post boxes located in the Thistles and Stirling Arcade.

The closing date for entries is Thursday January 2 and the winner will be the first entry selected from all the correctly completed forms. 

The Reindeer Trail is organised by Go Forth Stirling in a bid to increase footfall around the city centre. 

The business-led organisation represents close to 400 local traders and is run by Ms Fenner and her team with a key objective of delivering projects and services which improve Stirling’s retail environment for businesses, shoppers and visitors.   

For more information click here.